A Queensland company has been forced into liquidation after a court issued a winding up order for the firm with its accumulated debt topping $16 million.
Bundaberg Farming Co Pty Ltd collapsed after the New South Wales Supreme Court issued a winding up order and appointed liquidator Glenn Livingstone for WLP Restructuring.
The company had functioned as a fruit and vegetable farm, but was not operational at the time of its collapse, according to Mr Livingstone, who said in a report that its demise was caused by a number of reasons including poor financial control.
The liquidator’s report revealed Bundaberg Farming had $16 million in debt with $12 million owed to unsecured creditors, the Courier Mail reported.
There was also $1.5 million outstanding in unpaid wages and overdue superannuation to 215 employees.
Secured creditors were also owed $1.6 million, including Opal Packaging Australia Pty Ltd who went to the Supreme Court over its $107,962 debt, which then triggered the liquidation.
Mr Livingstone’s investigations uncovered a bank account in the name of Bundaberg Farming Pty Ltd, which had a balance of just $14.87.
He also identified farming equipment worth $38,000 but did not expect to recover any value from the assets.
News.com.au reached out to Mr Livingstone for comment.
It comes as a record number of businesses across Australia are collapsing.
Credit reporting agency CreditorWatch revealed that the number of external administrators appointed to Australian businesses had hit a record high and was now 22.1 per cent higher than a year ago with the construction sector most prominently impacted.
News.com.au has reported on a number of firms going bust this year.
This includes Melbourne (Wholesale) Roller Shutters who left a trail of creditors owed more than $900,000, including up to 20 customers who had paid deposits but never had the work done.
NSW construction company Viridi Group has been forced into administration as a result of the temporary suspension of a government contact worth millions, putting 115 jobs at risk.
Melbourne-based company MadeCo, which was responsible for kitchen manufacturing, went bust leaving it $2.5 million in debt last month.
Other recent collapses include workers at two NSW factories who slammed their former employer after the company went bust, leaving them and other creditors multiple millions out of pocket.